At least 19 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died when the boat they were on sank off Tunisia, a rights group said today, in the region’s latest tragedy.

In the past four days, five boats carrying migrants have sunk off the northern Tunisian city of Sfax, leaving 67 people missing and nine dead, as migrant boat departures bound for Italy have increased significantly.

The Tunisian coast guard rescued off the coast of Mahdia five people who were on a boat that had sailed from Sfax, said Romandan bin Omar official of the Forum for Social and Economic Rights (FTDES).

At the same time, the coast guard has stopped in the last four days about 80 boats destined for Italy and has arrested more than 3,000 migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries.

The coast near the city of Sfax has recently become a major point of departure for many migrants from Africa and the Middle East fleeing their countries to escape conflict and poverty in search of a better life in Europe.

According to UN figures, at least 12,000 migrants who arrived in Italy this year left Tunisia, compared with 1,300 in the same period last year. Until recently, Libya was the main departure country for migrants from Africa.

According to FTDES data, Tunisia’s port authorities prevented more than 14,000 migrants from leaving the country in the first three months of the year, compared to 2,900 in the same period last year.

Tunisia has been negotiating a loan of about $2 billion from the IMF for several months but talks appear to have stalled after the agreement in principle announced in mid-October.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, assessed on Monday that the situation in Tunisia is “very dangerous” and even spoke of a risk of “collapse” of the state that would lead to “immigration flows to the EU and instability in the Middle East and North Africa”.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had a similar reaction, who asked the IMF and some countries to help Tunisia.